It was now February 1991, and winter still had a firm grip on Germany – as these pictures of a snow covered street in Bruch demonstrate.

My wife took these pictures of her parent’s home in Bruch, as well as an entire roll of film of David playing in the snow with his toy dump truck – to send to me in the desert.

I’ll use these pictures to discuss some of the issues that were important to our family, while I was still deployed in the Gulf.

At some point the squadron members knew that Hahn AB was going to close after the Gulf War, and eventually it did close and converted from an Air Base (AB) to a commercial airport.

At the time we couldn’t tell anyone about Hahn AB closing down, but during the cease fire in the Gulf I was told I would be PCS’ing to a new assignment very soon; here David helps clear the terrace of snow with a broom.

Once we had access to the satellite phones, I was able to call my wife and tell her that we would be moving again soon – but I couldn’t mention that the reason was because Hahn AB was closing.

In the Gulf my squadron commander said I had two options for assignments: fly the F-111G at Cannon AFB, NM, or the F-111E at RAF Upper Heyford, UK – I picked RAF Upper Heyford, UK, in an instant as it was in the best interests of our family.

I was one of the first members of the 10th TFS to depart the desert because I had to move so soon to my next assignment, and I left the desert on March 15, 1991 on a C-141 and returned to Hahn AB.

This is the last sequence of photos to post prior to my arriving home, and my arrival pictures are also in my Gulf War photos – in Hahn AB Set One.

We ended up being stationed at Hahn AB only about a year and a half in total, and although we were moving to England I still had to go to Cannon AFB, NM, to learn to fly the F-111G – which was about a 3 or 4 month TDY or “temporary duty.”

My wife couldn’t believe or understand why we were moving again so soon, and eventually our plan was for her and David to spend the summer in Bruch while I was TDY for the summer to Cannon AFB, NM, to learn to fly the F-111G for 3 or 4 months.

At this point my wife and I had been married 5 years, David was now 4 years old, we were planning our third international move across ocean waters – and I was now officially a veteran of the Persian Gulf War.

My wife and I were now planning for our fifth home together in five years of marriage: Heckenmünster, Germany; Sacramento, CA – a rental home and then a purchased home; Monzelfeld, Germany; and soon to be our next home – in England, north of Oxford.

My wife and I took a stress test on our own after my return from the Gulf, that the Flight Surgeon had handed out to everyone when I was stationed at Spangdahlem AB on a previous assignment; and after adding up all of the “life changing events” or stress points we had been through together – my wife and I were literally off the chart at the high end of the scale at that time.

So my wife and I decided that going forward we were going to “stiff arm” all the events of the external world outside of our home as best we could – and focus on keeping our own family going forward and reducing all outside stress influences as much as possible – and in time it must have worked because we’re still going strong after 24 years of marriage!

’Life, Love and the Human Condition’ by Mark D. Jones

Welcome to my world! This blog is a place to capture all of the creative areas of my life into one spot that you can visit any time you like, and allow you to pause for a moment during the course of your day. You can see in the "categories section" the many creative interests that I have in my life - which I add to on a regular basis. Join with me in pondering the meaning of, "Life, Love and the Human Condition." So grab a cup of coffee or tea and spend a few minutes with me in my world...you may find it interesting and want to stay awhile! Enjoy!